VAMPIRELLA VALENTINE’S DAY SPECIAL 2022 – Review

VAMPIRELLA VALENTINE’S DAY SPECIAL 2022, from Dynamite Comics on February 9th, 2022, recounts four tales of vampiric romance as Vampirella helps a good man, settles a monster brawl, aids outlaws on the run, and confronts an ancient specter.

The Details

• Written By: David Avallone, George Kambadais, Dearbhla Kelly, Jacob Edgar
• Art By: Vincenzo Carratù, George Kambadais, Emiliana Pinna, Andres Labrada
• Colors By: Ellie Wright, George Kambadais
• Letters By: Jeff Eckleberry
• Cover Art By: Sozomaika (cover A)
• Cover Price: $4.99
• Release Date: February 9, 2022

Was It Good?

VAMPIRELLA VALENTINE’S DAY SPECIAL 2022 is the next Dynamite character at-bat (*ahem*) with her own Valentine’s Special this year, and it’s a surprisingly packed anthology with a little something for everyone.

Packed as in it’s got four (mostly) fleshed out and complete stories in a 27-page comic. Typical for most anthologies, one or more shorts are stronger than the rest, but there aren’t any stinkers in this particular batch. Of the four, Avallone’s A Dame With Fangs is the strongest in both writing and art. Avallone is turning out to be one of Dynamite’s top writers, and we’re looking forward to seeing more from him in the future.

The weakest story of the lot is Outlaws. It’s not terrible by any means, but the ending was too quick and forced. The intent appeared to be to have a Tales From The Crypt-styled twist ending, but it didn’t quite land. Still, it’s a unique take on the Vampirella character in a unique role, and who doesn’t love Old West horror?

In all this is a fun, eclectic anthology just in time for the holiday, and we recommend picking this issue up for your collection.

Keep scrolling for a closer look at the covers, or Click Here to jump right to the story description with some spoilers.

What’s It About?

[SPOILERS AHEAD – Click here if you just want the score without spoilers

As with every anthology review, we’ll cover each short briefly and highlight what worked or didn’t.

A Dame With Fangs

Police Officer Nick Napoli encounters a vampire on Valentine’s Night on the mean streets of the city. Fortunately, Vampirella arrives to save Nick from the bloodsucker, and their friendship lasts for decades to come.

As mentioned above, this story is the strongest in both art and writing. Avallone nails the sweet – almost tender – aspect of a lifelong love affair wrapped in a supernatural shell. Carratù’s art is phenomenal and you could easily picture this duo working on a revival of Tomb of Dracula.

A Match Made In Hell

On Valentine’s Night, a fire kaiju ravages the city. Vampirella tries and fails to stop the mighty beast when she gets the idea to fight fire with water. Surprisingly a monster from the deep proves the adage about “opposites attract.”

This is a comedic and cute story about monsters in love. The art, however, is the interesting point because it projects a mix of detailed action with cartoonish designs, making for intriguing visuals.

Outlaws

An in-love couple of bank robbers race to flee the law and escape for days of wedded bliss. Unfortunately, a stray bullet hits the girl, and the boy seeks help from a woman rumored to have strange powers.

The highlight of this short is the strong art by Andres Labrada. The use of hatch lines for shading is a technique not done well these days as too many artists rely on colorists for shading. Here, Labrada goes crazy (in a good way) with hatching to give readers a classic look to the characters. That said, the weak point is the twist ending because it comes out of nowhere and needed a little more setup or build-up.

O Glorious Saint Valentine

An ancient specter is cursed to return every Valentine’s Day to mete out mercy killings to the lonely and brokenhearted. When Vampirella encounters the specter after meeting a sweet man, more than one heart will be stolen this night.

It’s always interesting to see characters take on myths and legends in a creative way. Edgar does an admirable job intermingling the legend of the Dearg-Due with Vampirella for a surprisingly soulful and sad story.

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